Research News

A typical student research project might build on information found in various online or print resources. Hongyu Zhang ’24 is working with data from a slightly more extraterrestrial source: NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope.

Three Hamilton students — Anokhi Manchanda ’22, Cole Kuczek ’23, and Henry Schwob ’22 — are working on summer research projects concerning police and court reforms and a potential human rights commission in the Utica area.

These days, the name “Pfizer” brings to mind images of syringes and vaccine cards. But the pharmaceutical giant is concerned with far more than COVID-19 — just ask Ben Jakubczak ’23, who will be working remotely for Pfizer this summer. Jakubczak’s position will be as a research assistant, analyzing data on spontaneous blindness in Wistar Han rats in order to aid future toxicology studies.

Recent Hamilton graduate Amari Leigh ’21 presented her honors thesis, “Hashtagging Repression: Stigmatization, Social Media, and the Women’s Movement In Brazil,” at a virtual Harvard University conference.

“We are responsible for 11,700 tons of carbon in the atmosphere every year,” said Brian Hansen, Hamilton’s director of environmental protection, safety, and sustainability. The reduction of this imposing number, which stands between the College and its goal of carbon neutrality, is being approached from a variety of angles, among them, switching energy systems from fossil fuels to greener sources.

The COVID-19 quarantine was often defined by feelings of boredom, loneliness, and anxiety. But for David Li ’24, the slog of pandemic “Blursdays” gave way to something far more positive: artistic inspiration. This summer, Li will be working on a dramatization of the quarantine experience through an Emerson project titled “Time(s) Out of Joint: Dramatizing Time Perceived in Social Isolation.”

“We have been building bridges,” says Professor of Government Frank Anechiarico, who has been leading the College/Community Partnership for Racial Justice since its inception last summer.

Due to the extended break between the fall and spring semesters, Hamilton’s Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center offered students the opportunity to spend the time conducting research. Some 39 students and 13 faculty-led groups – with an additional 40 students doing research as part of team  –  collaborated on a variety of projects that ranged from the philosophical endeavor of community-based teaching to militarized policing and political stability.  

While COVID-19 may have changed the way we work, socialize, and learn, problem solvers like Patricia Shiebler ’21 have tapped their creativity to make the most out of the challenging “new normal” created by the pandemic.

Twelve Hamilton students joined Nichols in developing and delivering weekly lessons exploring age-appropriate topics in philosophy with groups of Clinton elementary and middle school students.